https://gizmodo.com/kevin-conroy-dead-obituary-batman-dc-comics-rip-1849772917
QuoteKevin Conroy—the actor who became Batman for generations of fans when he voiced the Dark Knight in the iconic Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League cartoons, as well as a plethora of video games, including the Batman Arkham franchise—has died. He was 66.
First reports of Conroy's passing, after a brief battle with cancer, came from Diane Pershing, who played Poison Ivy opposite Conroy in the legendary Batman: The Animated Series, before being confirmed by Warner Bros. Animation.
Wait...what?!
Noooo!!! :(
RIP indeed. He'll always be a legend within the DC Community.
Horrible news. Rest in peace, Kevin. :(
Huge loss. It can't be overstated how central he has been to the Batman legacy. A voice that will live forever.
What a shame, he was so young. :(
Terrible news to wake up to. His last post on Twitter was only a week ago, wishing everyone a happy Halloween. To think he was suffering behind closed doors while maintaining an upbeat appearance publicly must have been hard for him to do.
Kevin Conroy has played Batman so much over the years, in various animated media and video games. But BTAS was all he needed to cement his legacy to an entire generation. At the peak of his career, he was the first voice actor in the role to convey humanity to the role. Whether he distinguished his clumsy billionaire persona as Bruce Wayne from his grim nature as Batman (with some exceptional light-hearted moments), the emotional depth he brought to the character will forever be hard to top. A voice of a generation.
Rest in peace, Dark Knight.
https://youtu.be/Lqe9LC6dmJE
https://youtu.be/4xbbpH-20ak
When I read Batman comics, I have several voices to choose from. Peter Weller and Adam West come to mind. Even Jeremy Sisto, believe it or not.
But it should go without saying that for the vast majority of Batman comics, it's Conroy. For most Batman comics, I read his dialogue using Conroy's voice. It's just too perfect.
I've always been reluctant to say that Conroy (or any actor) was definitive when it comes to playing the character. Because Batman's versatility can easily work against that. For example, Conroy's voice isn't all that appropriate for virtually any Batman comic published in the Sixties.
But outliers like that aside, Conroy's interpretation of the character is so perfect that you have to go into a pretty specific comic book era before it stops working.
For someone who aspired to be a stage actor rather than a comic book icon, Conroy's contributions to this character could ultimately dwarf any live action performance. In fact, that's arguably already happened. He's not "Batman for a generation". At this point, he's Batman for multiple generations.
I met him once at a con. He was every bit as courteous and gracious as you would hope.
This is a truly exasperating loss. My heart is with his friends and family.
The news is completely unexpected and hurts. I didn't even want to tell my family or friends about it. But I knew they would see it anyway, so I reluctantly raised the subject. All I can say is that these performances exist and the character lives on. Kevin loved Batman as much as us, and that's something I always admired about him. He genuinely valued the fans and the legacy he will always be associated with. He really felt like an ambassador for the franchise as a whole.
Conroy sounds exactly like how Batman should and I don't think anybody will ever approach his level of greatness. His voice communicated the strength and wisdom of someone who has trained his mind and body to be the peak of human potential. And as stated by many, he had vulnerability that gave his performances depth. It's fitting that the definitive voice is attached to the most balanced and complete incarnation of the character we have ever received. I've always valued the fact we have a complete arc that starts with his childhood, depicts his adult prime and moves into the elderly years without depicting his death. Everything about that period was lightning in a bottle and none of it would have been the same without the vocal talent.
So unexpected and very sad. Such a genuine man and amazing actor. RIP Mr Conroy.
Here is this beautiful clip of Kevin Conroy remembering the time he got recognised as Batman while doing voluntary work after 9/11.
https://youtu.be/wThPHMGWZXg
Well, this is a gut punch if there ever was one.
Rest In Peace.
This is the best tribute to Kevin Conroy I've seen so far.
(https://i.imgur.com/4eWYfs2.jpg)
Great tribute, but so sad :(
I found these scans of Kevin Conroy's interview with Comics Scene magazine published in 1994. The way he praised the material as mature really endeared him as a theater actor, going so far as treating each script like he's reading Hamlet. With that approach, it's no wonder his performances were exceptional.
(https://i.imgur.com/LymWwjQ.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/blvkZQP.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/pxYnRJw.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/TmD4qaK.jpeg)
Nice read.
Thanks for posting these, TLF!
You're welcome, J. (https://www.batman-online.com/forum/Themes/default/images/post/thumbup.gif)
To honour what would've been Kevin's 67th birthday last Wednesday, I found a short autobiography he wrote for the DC Pride anthology comic series called Finding Batman, which was only published earlier this year. Kevin tells about his life as a gay man who tried to live a double life to avoid getting stigmatised in his personal and professional life with little success and feeling hopeless seeing beloved family relatives and friends die due to mental illness and AIDS. The anguish he had experienced enabled him to connect with Batman as a character and gave him extra motivation to portray him as best as he could in BTAS.
***Warning***: some language is NSFW.
https://twitter.com/dcauwatchtower/status/1571160315743842306
As sad as it was for Kevin to experience such torment throughout his life, it's comforting to know he found inner peace when playing Batman.
As far as performances go, there are many. But all I can think of at the moment is the entire I Am the Night episode and him singing Am I Blue? in JL, besides his outpouring over his parents' graves in MOTP of course.
Rocksteady revealed that Kevin's last vocal performance as Batman was for their new Suicide Squad game coming out next year. It's also exciting due to the fact the game takes place after Arkham Knight, thus confirming what I suspected all along: the Knightfall Protocol was about going underground for a period of time and later re-emerging. In the short trailer Rocksteady released Harley calls him Bruce. So that's confirmation of the time period. Kevin would want us to enjoy the game, and I'll be looking to do that. I'm imagining we'll get predator maps from the viewpoint of the villains/goons.
https://youtu.be/pAIuODLsOf4
Mark Hamill doesn't think he will play the Joker again, following Kevin Conroy's death.
Quote
They would call and say, 'They want you to do The Joker,' and my only question was, 'Is Kevin [Conroy] Batman?' If they said yes, I would say, 'I'm in.'
We were like partners.
We were like Laurel and Hardy. Without Kevin there, there doesn't seem to be a Batman for me.
While I'm at it, here is Hamill paying tribute to his fellow co-star and friend.
Quote
For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it.
His rhythms and subtleties, tones and delivery — that all also helped inform my performance. He was the ideal partner — it was such a complementary, creative experience.
I couldn't have done it without him. He will always be my Batman.
https://virginradio.co.uk/entertainment/91138/mark-hamill-reveals-the-reason-hes-retiring-from-voicing-the-joker
A few days ago was the one-year anniversary of Kevin Conroy's passing.
(https://i.imgur.com/3uQLKFI.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/QTaHcY3.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/JuJqwWe.jpg)
Been away a bit, we lost Kevin during that time so I had to come back and post in this. I can't remember the loss of any entertainer affecting me quite like this one did. Adam West was tough, but not entirely unexpected at his age. Robin Williams was painful but given some of his struggles, the manner in which he left made it less of a surprise (though no less painful). This hit me like a ton of bricks. I've still had a hard time revisiting some of his work, which I know is exactly the wrong way to deal with it. It's just been hard. I will always regret never getting to meet the man as so many did at different conventions and so on and expressing how grateful I was to him. I do truly believe he felt the love from all of us as a whole, though.